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The Gluten Free Challenge May 22 & 23

The Gluten Free Challenge has been issued, and everyone in Kansas City should answer the call. This isn’t a challenge for people who are already members of the gluten free elite, though. The Gluten Free Challenge is for people who eat gluten to experience being gluten free for one weekend.

The Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG) and Pamela’s Products have teamed up to issue The Gluten Free Challenge in honor of Celiac Awareness Month. The idea? Everyone should walk a weekend in a Celiac’s shoes!

Exciting New Gluten-free Products to Hit the Marketplace

It seems the new gluten-free products keep rolling into the marketplace at full steam! Some products are more anticipated that others, but one thing is true that options for those on the gluten-free diet keep expanding to meet customer’s needs.

Listed below are the products that this Examiner feels are the most noteworthy:

Penny Pinching on The Gluten-free Diet

Current economic conditions have challenged many people to look for ways to cut expenses. This problem is compounded when you’re a celiac because gluten-free foods can be expensive. Still, there are ways to trim the budget without sacrificing the foods you need and love.

1. Making a weekly menu plan reduces trips to the grocery store, saving both fuel and impulse spending. Check your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer to see what foods you can use that you already have on hand (cutting food cost for the week).

The News Media, Gluten Free Diet & Educating Yourself to be Healthy

Libonati_John_Philadelphia_PA

Have you ever wondered how reliable the news you see on the television really is?

Now I know first hand that the media does not always get it right and can even leave out the most important news of all.

Let me tell you how …

ABCGLUTENFATFor the last five years, I have worked to educate people about celiac disease and gluten sensitivity. I developed a website called Glutenfreeworks.com, which has helped tens of thousands get well and stay healthy living the gluten-free lifestyle.

I also edited and published the groundbreaking work, Recognizing Celiac Disease. This medical reference, authored by Cleo Libonati, RN, BSN has set the standard for identifying symptoms and their causes.

People use Glutenfreeworks.com every day to find new gluten-free recipes, how to get diagnosed for celiac disease, which restaurants serve gluten free food in their area and where to find information on local support groups. Our symptom guide, first published in Recognizing Celiac Disease, contains over 300 signs, symptoms, associated disorders and complications. From nutritional information to in-depth reviews of gluten disorders and the gluten-free diet, Glutenfreeworks.com provides medically accurate information to help patients and health professionals alike.

Last week I was given the opportunity to talk to ABC News in Philadelphia about gluten sensitivity, the gluten-free diet and how people’s lives are being affected by gluten.

When I sat down with ABC for a 20 minute interview on gluten sensitivity we discussed the following:

Can a celiac disease book save a life? A story how this one saved seven…

Saving a life means more than just keeping a person from dying. It means helping them get well.

While practicing medicine as a registered nurse, Cleo Libonati regularly saved people’s lives. Now her book “Recognizing Celiac Disease” is doing the same for people across the country and around the world.

Here is a letter telling how one family credits the book with saving their lives…

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Dear Cleo,

I have been “sick” most of my life (I turn 40 in July) with random things, too many to list here. I have been really sick the last 10 years, but started feeling as though I was “dying by the inch” in 2004. I finally broke down and went to my primary when premature ventricular contractions were occurring every 5-10 seconds that felt as though my heart was going to jump right out of my throat. I had many other random multiple sclerosis type symptoms, but the severity of the PVC’s were what scared me the most, that is until 2006. I began to have many gastro symptoms that kept me in the bathroom several times a day with alternating elimination problems, I couldn’t keep food down, and pain in the left side of my swollen, hard, tender abdomen every time I ate. I had an EGD and colonoscopy on 2/15/07. The three days before the test were the best I had felt in 4 years. Since I worked in Oncology and was used to seeing patients doing prep for them, I put myself on clear liquids 2 days before the Go-Lytely. So, I was gluten-free without knowing it for 3 days prior to testing.

Everyone on a Gluten Free Diet?

The below article by Nadine Grzeskowiak is a good explanation of why the gluten-free diet can work for anyone and everyone and pitfalls of the celiac tests.  Medical experts speak of the gluten-free diet as if it is…